In such drives the joint connection is usually protected in the length of shafting between the motor and the gearing with a bellows preventing penetration of water and dirt. The bellows in turn is at least partly surrounded by a bell-shaped lug which starts out from the upper housing part of the Z-drive in order to reduce the danger of damage.
This lug is constructed in one piece with the upper housing part in U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,203. A similar construction, in which, however, the bell-shaped protective part is secured, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,407. In both cases, the installation and the service of the joint connection and the bellows is made more difficult by the bell.
A modified construction is known from German OS No. 19 33 176: A spherical cup-shaped cover is swingably supported upwardly with the Z-drive on the same axis and can be swung upwardly also by itself after loosening of a screw, which causes the bellows or the joint connection to become accessible. The constructive input for the upwardly swingable cover is considered here as disadvantageous.
Therefore, the basic purpose of the invention is to provide a simple and effective cover for the joint connection or for the bellows which surrounds said joint connection.
To attain the purpose, a lid is mounted onto the upper housing part and projects forwardly over the actual gear box so far that it covers in upward direction the joint connection or the bellows surrounding it, while for the protection to the sides two platelike lugs, which start out from the upper housing part, are provided on which lugs rests the lid at the same time. This lid closes off at the same time an opening which exists in the upper housing part for manufacture and installation reasons and can replace a lid which would also otherwise be provided for it. It may be simpler from a technical casting standpoint to mount the platelike lugs not on the housing, but on the part of the lid which projects over the joint connection. After removing the lid the joint is in this construction accessible from all sides.
It is generally common to keep the outer contours of a Z-drive as free as possible from operating elements, lifting devices, etc. and to integrate these aggregates into the housing parts. Therefore, the invention is further developed in a manner that the mentioned lid covers the parts for the reversing mechanism, which mechanism is mounted on the upper housing part or the cover, and the projecting handle of the oil dip-stick, etc.
A solution for this which aids the aesthetics of today is realized by designing the upper housing part and the lid in such a manner that both form a closed unit.
Z-drives have already become known in which the operating lever which is mounted on the upper housing part and the oil dip-stick are enclosed with a separate cover. However, in this construction the cover of the joint connection is cast on the upper housing part and a vertical surface must be machined on top of the housing part before the placement of the lid thereon, which lid then forms the closed unit, for which it here needs also a machined surface. These additional machining operations are not needed in a Z-drive according to the invention, which moreover offers also a better accessibility to the joint connection in the drive train between the motor and the Z-drive.